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Title: Delayed Onset of Nonthermal Melting in Single-Crystal Silicon Pumped with Hard X Rays

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [2];  [1];  [2];  [1];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [4];  [1];  [1]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  2. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
  3. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  4. Univ. of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg (Germany). Faculty of Physics and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Here, we monitor the onset of nonthermal melting in single-crystal silicon by implementing an x-ray pump–x-ray probe scheme. Using the ultrashort pulses provided by the Linac Coherent Light Source (SLAC) and a custom-built split-and-delay line for hard x rays, we achieve the temporal resolution needed to detect the onset of the transition. Our data show no loss of long-range order up to 150 ± 40 fs from photoabsorption, which we interpret as the time needed for the electronic system to equilibrate at or above the critical nonthermal melting temperature. Once such equilibration is reached, the loss of long-range atomic order proceeds inertially and is completed within 315 ± 40 fs from photoabsorption.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; German Research Foundation (DFG)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344; AC52-06NA25396; AC02-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
1461829
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL--740585
Journal Information:
Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 26 Vol. 120; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Femtosecond phase-transition in hard x-ray excited bismuth journal January 2019
Femtosecond phase-transition in hard x-ray excited bismuth journal January 2019
Demonstration of femtosecond X-ray pump X-ray probe diffraction on protein crystals journal September 2018
Demonstration of femtosecond X-ray pump X-ray probe diffraction on protein crystals text January 2018
Femtosecond phase-transition in hard x-ray excited bismuth text January 2019

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47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
crystal melting
phase transitions
ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy